Marcellus Education Team

Share

Your Private Drinking Water and the Natural Gas Industry

Posted: July 10, 2011

Part one of a two-part article on considerations for private drinking water wells and natural gas drilling

Drilling for natural gas in
central Pennsylvania has brought a range of economic benefits to the region,
but has also raised environmental concerns.
One question many people have is, how will gas drilling impact water
wells and springs that many people use as their source of drinking water.

At a recent presentation that
focused on protection and testing of private water supplies near natural gas
drilling. Bryan Swistock, water resource
extension specialist with Penn State’s School of Forest Resources, was a key
presenter at the meetings and provided valuable information and practical
advice for people interested in protecting their private drinking water
supplies.

Swistock began his remarks by
providing some statistics on the vast number of homes, farms and camps in
Pennsylvania – more than one million -- that use water wells and springs as
their drinking water source.

Swistock said many issues – separate from natural gas
drilling activities – can be found with private water systems. Some typical problems that have existed for
many years include improperly sealed well caps, animals nesting inside the well
system, and housing pets or other items near the well caps.

“Many people are
having their well water tested before Marcellus Shale drilling near their water
supply, and they are finding a range of issues that had existed but that they
weren’t aware of because their water supplied hadn’t been tested before,” says
Swistock. “One of the most common
pre-existing problems is corrosiveness in the water supply, and other common
issues include hard water, coliform bacteria, iron, low pH, and E. coli
bacteria.”

Separate from the Marcellus
Shale natural gas drilling, Swistock recommends having your private water
supply tested, if only for your own comfort, health and safety. He said testing is even more important if
there is natural gas drilling that will be taking place in the vacinity of your
water supply.

Swistock is a proponent of
having your private drinking water tested.
“Water testing helps document any problems you may have in general with
your water – and there are many pre-existing problems, such as corrosiveness,
hard water, iron, and different bacteria, that are common to our area. Having your water tested helps document your
water quality.”

He recommends having your
water tested by a state-certified laboratory as a way of educating yourself on
the quality of your water. If natural
gas drilling is going to take place near your water supply, thorough third-party
testing also offers some legal documentation.

Swistock does not recommend
testing the water yourself since tests taken without a certified
chain-of-custody or conducted by non-certified labs will not be considered as
valid tests in a court of law.

“Companies that offer what’s
called ‘chain-of-custody’ testing through state accredidated laboratories will
provide you with results that will be considered a legal document,” says
Swistock.

Swistock encourages people to
make sure their water supply is properly constructed -- including having the
water well casing located above ground, installing a sanitary water well cap,
etc. And he says people should designate
a “water supply protection area” – a buffer of at least 100 feet around the
water supply source – to limit anything that might negatively impact the
quality of your water.

With regard to natural gas
drilling, Swistock says there are regulations currently in place that are
designed to protect drinking water supplies.
Swistock says the state currently is proposing several new regulations,
as well as revisions to some of the existing regulations. He adds that property owners can also attempt
to negotiate their own water testing requirements as part of any lease
agreements with natural gas interests.

“For example, the current
setback requires that any natural gas well be situated at least 200 feet away
from a water supply. You could make the
distance farther away as part of your lease with the drilling company.”

Swistock also listed some
environmental issues with private water supplies that can occur during the
process of drilling for natural gas.

Another issue is the presence
of methane in drinking water supplies.
Swistock says methane is not a drinking hazard, but it is an explosion
hazard.